Full Description
This book asks anew whether there really was European integration before 1914. By focussing on quantitative (economic indicators) and qualitative data (the international regulation of patents, communication networks, social policy and plant protection), the authors re-evaluate European integration of the time and address the politics of seemingly apolitical cooperation. The authors show that European integration was multifaceted and cooperation less the result of intent, than of incentives. National polities and international regimes co-shaped each other. The result is a book that achieves two things: offer stand-alone chapters that shed light on specific developments and - these read altogether - develop a bigger picture. It will be of interest to researchers and students of economic history, as well as those interested in the history of internationalism and globalisation.
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction. European economic integration and international coordination in the first globalisation era, 1850-1914.- Chapter 2: European economic integration before 1914 - a closer look.- Chapter 3: The European making of national public services - Posts and Telegraphs.- Chapter 4: Inventing Foreign Patents in Globalising Europe.- Chapter 5: Keeping international order in good health: plant protection.- Chapter 6: Social policy - from a prisoner's dilemma to a European cartel.- Chapter 7: Conclusion.
